I Was Hired by the Black-Minded Prince for My Life's Ransom - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 21. Would you like to read what’s inside my head for a moment?
Haaa-ahhh.
I opened my mouth slowly and yawned.
Truth be told, I wasn’t even sure what I’d just said.
This state right now simply felt too comfortable.
Warm, and soft, and drowsy….
So languid that my limbs had gone weightless.
“…….”
Yurian looked down at me quietly.
A ticklish silence.
My heart thudded dully for no reason.
Whether from the drink, or the creeping drowsiness, or perhaps….
“What is it you want?”
His low voice settled against my ear, roughened at the edges.
Me? What do I want?
“Mmm, I….”
I wiggled my fingers and nuzzled my face a little deeper into his chest.
If you were to ask, then naturally….
“It’s just wonderful.”
A smile.
The corners of my mouth came undone of their own accord.
Leaning against his solid, warm chest, I murmured on.
“The bedding here is so incredibly soft.”
As I fidgeted with my fingertips, I could almost feel the texture of the blankets I’d been using these past days.
Fluffy, and carrying the scent of sunshine.
“The blanket’s warm, and the pillow is so perfectly snug.”
The feeling of sinking into the softness was absolute bliss.
For the first time, I woke each morning feeling genuinely happy.
“The morning light comes in so nicely, and no one wakes me even if I sleep late.”
Ah, even thinking about it now makes me smile.
I stretched my eyes into crescents.
Not being insulted the moment I open them.
Not having to hold my breath and tread so carefully.
I never realized such things could be this good.
For no particular reason, I grasped the collar of Yurian’s robe lightly.
“And most of all….”
“There’s more?”
“It’s wonderful having you here beside me.”
I smiled as I spoke, and Yurian went still.
Oh, was that too forward of me…?
But my alcohol-soaked mind couldn’t hold onto embarrassment for long.
I rubbed my cheek lightly against his chest and murmured.
“It feels safe….”
Falling asleep beside another person—it was the first time since my brother died.
My chest trembled faintly.
Not sad, exactly… but how do I put it?
It feels good to remember the warmth of better days.
I burrowed a little deeper into his embrace.
“Anyway, that’s why I like it. So much.”
“I see.”
A soft, hushed laugh echoed above my head.
“Your assessment is rather generous, it seems.”
It sounded like teasing, yet somehow tender.
Then I felt myself lifted gently.
“Oh!”
“Hush, stay still.”
Yurian scooped me up and carried me toward the bed.
Wait… I could walk on my own.
But not wanting to abandon the warmth I felt, I simply looked up at him as though I hadn’t noticed.
We were impossibly close.
I could see every single one of his eyelashes.
‘…He’s beautiful.’
No matter how many times I looked at him, it was a face blessed by the gods themselves.
While I was lost in such thoughts, Yurian laid me down on the bed.
Soft—
My body sank into the mattress.
‘This feels nice….’
I hugged the blanket and nuzzled against it.
It smelled wonderful, as always.
Yurian, looking down at me, asked quietly.
“Am I not frightening to you, Vanilla?”
“…Pardon?”
“Or perhaps repulsive in some way.”
What an odd thing to say suddenly…
I pulled the blanket down.
Yurian sat perched on the edge of the bed, looking down at me.
That soft, inscrutable smile he always wore—the expression of someone impossible to read.
“Why would you say such a thing?”
“You’ve seen it, haven’t you? You ought to know.”
Yurian spoke as though it were nothing.
His tone was matter-of-fact, merely stating facts.
“I may appear virtuous, but in truth I’m nothing more than a hypocrite rotting from within—”
His fingertips drew slowly toward my cheek.
Gently, with a ticklish touch, he brushed away a fragment of cheese clinging to my face.
“A wicked person.”
“Ah….”
I blinked blankly.
So he knew.
I’d genuinely thought he had no idea.
“You knew all along….”
“It’s not usually difficult to perceive.”
A soft chuckle.
Yurian laughed as though amused.
That beautiful smile of his, as always.
“It’s precisely because of that the Empress attempted to kill me.”
What?
I lifted my head.
The Empress…?
“Your mother, isn’t she…?”
“Yes.”
Yurian shrugged slightly.
“She called me repulsive and monstrous.”
“That’s….”
“A demon born by borrowing the blood of the Imperial Family, she insisted. It’s a pity the Empress didn’t age with more grace, really.”
Yurian’s eyes crinkled beautifully as he smiled.
But I couldn’t bring myself to smile back.
He seemed unbothered, but truthfully my heart felt heavy.
‘If a caregiver speaks like that, a person can only end up broken….’
I know that too.
I grew up hearing abuse from Dai.
What it feels like to breathe in vitriol as naturally as air.
“Still, it was long ago. She passed away some time back anyway.”
“…Your Highness.”
I found myself wetting my lips for no good reason.
I wanted to comfort him, but how could I?
My wine-addled mind couldn’t conjure a single useful thought.
‘Hmm.’
I furrowed my brow in thought for a while, then finally gave up and opened my mouth.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“Would you read my mind once? Just once?”
“Vanilla’s mind.”
Yurian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
They held the look of someone about to say, “Why would I?”
“Quickly. Just this once.”
“…Mm.”
Yurian gave a small nod.
Wordless assent.
I closed my eyes at once.
Thoughts drifted languidly through my half-sleep consciousness.
‘Mmm…. This is so peaceful.’
‘Being waited upon by the Imperial Prince—life really isn’t much, is it?’
‘The bed is nice, the blankets are nice….’
‘Goodness, he’s handsome. Even his voice is lovely.’
‘Your Highness, you’re so warm. It feels good to be near you.’
‘I’m so happy….’
Mostly just fleeting thoughts.
But I wanted him to hear them.
That I didn’t find him repulsive at all.
‘…Though he frightens me a little sometimes.’
But that didn’t make me want to kill him.
That was just because the Empress had been a strange woman.
……
Yurian said nothing.
He simply stared at me without speaking, as if he were truly listening but giving no sign of it.
“What do you think?”
“About what.”
“About how I feel toward you, Your Highness. You asked, didn’t you?”
Technically he’d asked if I found him frightening or repulsive, but well—that was the gist of it.
I gazed up at him with a drowsy expression.
When our eyes met, he blinked slowly.
“Ah.”
He seemed to remember asking that.
“So that’s why you had me listen? To tell me what you think of me?”
“Yes… that’s right.”
“Heh.”
He laughed quietly.
Mockery? …No.
He was genuinely amused—it showed in every line of him.
The way his eyes curved into crescents proved it.
Softly.
Yurian settled onto his side beside me.
“You really are something unusual.”
“…Me?”
“Who lays bare their thoughts for someone else to read? Even when it would be safer to hide them.”
His voice had an odd quality to it—a looseness that wasn’t typical of him.
Usually he seemed perfectly fitted together, seamless, but now there was something softer about it.
“It’s not as though I was sad about it.”
He turned to face me fully.
His warmth drew closer.
It was pleasant, and he smelled good.
I found myself rolling toward him without thinking.
Yurian laughed quietly.
“Watching you try so hard to comfort me—that’s rather admirable.”
Lying in the soft bed, listening to his low voice, I felt sleep crashing down on me with irresistible weight.
That was why.
“It’s not unpleasant, having a subordinate who knows everything.”
I wanted to ask if he meant it,
if he wouldn’t kill me after all.
But sleep pulled me under.
Her eyes fell shut, irresistible.
I’d have to ask about it tomorrow for sure.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, firm arms drew slowly around her waist.
Her body sank into the warmth of his embrace.
“Silly rabbit.”
She thought she heard a low murmur against her ear.
* * *
The days that followed were remarkably quiet.
Yurian seemed buried under mountains of tasks related to Valenta Island.
Since the territory had been wrested from the Second Prince, the cleanup work was equally intricate.
For days, he was too consumed with work to spare her more than a glimpse.
It was welcome.
Rustle—
I drew the Case Record Book from the drawer that Yurian had given me.
‘Finally.’
At last I had time to read it slowly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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